'Game Of Thrones' Final Season Might Be Delayed Until 2019

It's a bit of unpleasant start to the week for Game Of Thrones fans today as HBO's programming president Casey Bloys revealed the show's final season might be delayed until 2019.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Bloys said the showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff have worked on the show exclusively for the past 12 years, and they want to ensure they do the series justice by taking their time.

"So as of now, the final season could air in 2018 and/or in 2019 depending on their needs?" asked journalist James Hibberd, Bloys answered: "Yeah. They have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule. We’ll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing."

Bloys also said the pair won't be working on the five prequel series that are in development, as they want to dedicate the next one and a half years to the final series.

"We want to focus on seasons 7 and 8. If any of these [prequel] scripts come to pass, you’re not going to see anything air anytime close to the season 8 finale," Bloys said.

Obviously, the GoT journey has been an epic undertaking for the creative minds behind it and for us, the fans. Given the tremendously high standards set by the show (acting as a benchmark for all other cinematic shows since its debut), we'd hate for them to rush its conclusion. It will surely be worth the wait.